National Rail Performance Report - Quarter 4 2015/16 (January-March 2016) May 2016
London TravelWatch is the official body set up by Parliament to provide a voice for London s travelling public. Our role is to: Speak up for transport users in discussions with policy-makers and the media Consult with the transport industry, its regulators and funders on matters affecting users Investigate complaints users have been unable to resolve with service providers, and Monitor trends in service quality. Our aim is to press in all that we do for a better travel experience all those living, working in or visiting London and its surrounding region. Financial periods Issue dates for London TravelWatch report for the corresponding Quarter Quarter 2 2013-14 July to Sept Dec 2013 Quarter 3 2013-14 Oct to Dec Feb 2014 Quarter 4 2013-14 Jan to March July 2014 Quarter 1 2014-15 April to June Sept 2014 Quarter 2 2014-15 July to Sept Dec 2014 Quarter 3 2014-15 Oct to Dec March 2015 Quarter 4 2014-15 Jan to March June 2015 Quarter 1 2015-16 April to June Oct 2015 Quarter 2 2015-16 July to Sept Dec 2015 Quarter 3 2015-16 Oct to Dec Feb 2016 Quarter 4 2015-16 Jan to March May 2016 Published by: London TravelWatch 169 Union Street London SE1 0LL Phone: 020 3176 2999 www.londontravelwatch.org.uk ii
Contents 1 Overview... 1 2 London & South East train service performance... 3 2.1... 3 2.2 Performance trends... 5 2.3 Cancellations and significant lateness... 12 2.4 Right time arrivals... 13 3 Passenger complaints... 14 3.1 Complaints by operator, Q3 2015-16 data... 15 Appendix Glossary & references... 22 www.londontravelwatch.org.uk iii
1 Overview London TravelWatch brings together, in a single place, a wide range of data from different sources and shows how things have been changing over time, for passengers, on the rail network in London and the South East (L&SE) during the fourth quarter (Jan to March) of 2015-16). For definitions of the measures, see Section 2 and 3. London & South East train service performance Overall, L&SE had a PPM of 87.7% during the quarter, which was 1.0 percentage points worse than Q4 2014-15 but 2.4 percentage points better than Q3 2015-16. When compared to Q4 2014-15, the decline can be attributed to the increase in Network Rail related delays, such as infrastructure failures (signal failures, broken rails and emergency engineering works), TOC related issues such staffing shortages, defective rolling stock, and external issues, such as, severe weather, trespassing incidents and fatalities. The overall peak PPM score for Q4 2015-16 is 80.8%, 0.9 percentage point lower than in Q4 2014-15. The overall rate of cancellations and significant lateness was 3.4% in Q4 2015-16, which was 0.3 percentage points below the previous quarter (Q3 2015-16) but 0.2 percentage points higher than in Q4 2014-15. The overall rate of right time arrivals was 62.8% in Q4 2015-16, 2.5 percentage points lower than Q4 2014-15, but 3.5 percentage points higher than Q3 2015-16. Punctuality and reliability of trains was the common cause for complaint to TOCs in Q3 2015-16. Sufficient room for passengers to sit/stand and ticketing and refund policy were also a high source of complaints Changes to train operating companies In September 2014, Govia Thameslink Railway became fully operational (previously First Capital Connect), and in December 2014, a small number of Southeastern services transferred to Govia Thameslink Railway, therefore the 2015-16 Q2 statistics for these two franchises are not wholly comparable with data from previous quarters. Southern Railway became part of Govia Thameslink Railway on 26 July 2015. Prior to 2015-16 data for Southern and GTR/FCC appear separately due to different reporting practices. The new franchise is presented in its entirety (Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express) TfL Rail began operating services into and out of London Liverpool Street, May 31 2015. This operator is the precursor to Crossrail, and the services were transferred www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 1
from Abellio Greater Anglia. Some Greater Anglia services transferred to London Overground. The historical data for Greater Anglia, London Overground and TfL Rail have been remapped to reflect the franchises as they exist today. www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 2
2 London & South East train service performance This report presents a set of measures of the performance of train operating companies in London and the South East (L&SE), which are particularly relevant to passengers. With two exceptions, the data refers to the whole of each company s services, not simply to those to, from or within London, although in every case these account for a large majority of trains run. In the case of First Great Western, they refer only to its London and Thames Valley (LTV) operations. In the case of London Midland, they refer only to its L&SE services. 2.1 The public performance measure (PPM) tracks the performance of individual trains against their planned timetable. Trains, which complete their whole route calling at all timetabled stations, are measured for punctuality at their final destination. In the case of L&SE services, a train is defined as being on time if it arrives within five minutes of the planned arrival time. The PPM is the percentage of planned trains which are run and which complete their journeys on time. It is worth noting that PPM is a measure across the whole operating day. It does not reflect the proportion of passengers experiencing good or poor performance. 2.1.1 Results Quarter 4 2015-16 Overall, L&SE had a PPM of 87.7% during the quarter, which was 1.0 percentage points worse than Q4 2014-15 but 2.4 percentage points better than Q3 2015-16. When compared to Q4 2014-15, the decline can be attributed to the increase in Network Rail related delays, such as infrastructure failures (signal failures, broken rails and emergency engineering works), TOC related issues such staffing shortages, defective rolling stock, and external issues, such as, severe weather, trespassing incidents and fatalities. Operating on routes with minimal interaction with other TOC s, c2c had the highest average PPM in the fourth quarter of 2015-16 (with 95.9%), a 1.6 percentage point reduction compared with the same quarter last year. Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), with a PPM of 80.5% had the lowest score, a 3.4 percentage point reduction compared to the same quarter in 2014-15. In the last six quarters, GTR have had the worst PPM score compared to other L&SE operators. Its poor performance can be attributed to infrastrusture failures, on-going works at London Bridge, rolling stock and prevalent staffing issues, numerous incidents, such as, embankment subsidence between Polegate and Lewes as well as weather related delays. www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 3
Southeastern recorded the largest drop, with their PPM falling from 91.7% in Q4 2014-15 to 85.6% in Q4 2015-16, a 6.0 percentage point reduction. This was, in part, due to a landslide at Barnehurst closing the entire Bexleyheath line, a cracked sea wall between Dover and Folkestone as well as the on-going works at London Bridge. London Midland had a slight increase in their performance this quarter, but has consistently been one of the poorest performers in previous quarters and was still the second worst performing operator throughout the quarter. Severe flooding, which blocked the railway between Rugby and Milton Keynes, as well as defective rolling stock affected performance. 2.1.2 Peak services Of all the franchised peak services, which operate on weekdays between 0700 and 0959 and 1600 and 1859, c2c had the highest proportion of trains on time for Q4 2015-16, with a score of 95.4%. GTR recorded a score of 72.9%, the lowest peak PPM. The overall peak PPM score for Q4 2015-16 is 80.8%, 0.9 percentage point lower than in Q4 2014-15. TfL Rail, which recorded a peak PPM of 90.2% in Q4 2015-16, had the largest increase of any operator, 6.6 percentage points compared to the same quarter last year. Southeastern had the largest decrease with peak PPM falling from 86.7% in Q4 2014-15 to 77.0% in Q4 2015-16, a 9.7 percentage point reduction. Graph 1 Q4 2014-15, Q3 2015-16 & Q4 2015-16 100.00% 90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% Q4 2014-15 Q3 2015-16 Q4 2015-16 1 1 * Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) from 14 September 2014 (previously First Capital Connect). * 26 July 2015, Southern Railway became part of GTR www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 4
2.2 Performance trends In the charts in this section, each train company s quarterly all-trains PPM results for the past three years are shown graphically, together with the results for withflow peak period trains. In each case, the individual company s performance is shown alongside the combined result for the entire L&SE network. Trend lines are plotted to eliminate the impact of cyclical fluctuations. The performance of individual train companies is partially dependent on the varying ability of Network Rail to deliver railway infrastructure on which their trains can operate reliably; but a second factor has also been the inability of some operators adequately to manage the service elements (such as rolling stock and train crews) for which they are wholly responsible. The performance of c2c, Chiltern, London Overground and TfL Rail has been on a stable or upward trend over the three-year period. Abellio Greater Anglia has experienced a decline in previous few quarters, but performance is better than the L&SE average. London Overground, however, has more recently seen a deterioration of performance attributed to the knock on effects of the works at London Bridge and the poor performance of other TOCs. The performance of Govia Thameslink Railway, Great Western Railway, London Midland and Southeastern was below the average of the L&SE group as a whole. Since Q4 2014-15, South West Train has experience an upward trend in its performance. www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 5
National Rail Performance Report Q4 2015-16 All trains performance Peak trains performance Abellio Greater Anglia Abellio Greater Anglia Abellio Greater Anglia Abellio Greater Anglia trendline Abellio Greater Anglia Abellio Greater Anglia trendline c2c c2c c2c c2c trendline c2c c2c trendline www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 6
National Rail Performance Report Q4 2015-16 All trains performance Peak trains performance Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways Chiltern Chiltern trendline Chiltern Chiltern trendline Great Western Railway (LTV) Great Western Railway (LTV) Great Western Railway (LTV) Great Western Railway(LTV) trendline Great Western Railway (LTV) Great Western Railway(LTV) trendline www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 7
National Rail Performance Report Q4 2015-16 All trains performance Peak trains performance Govia Thameslink Railway Govia Thameslink Railway Govia Thameslink Railway Govia Thameslink Railway trendline Govia Thameslink Railway Govia Thameslink Railway trendline Heathrow Express Note: As it is an unfranchised operator, Heathrow Express services are not included in the overall average for London and the South East shown on other charts, and peak trains on this route are not monitored separately Heathrow Express Heathrow Express trendline www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 8
National Rail Performance Report Q4 2015-16 All trains performance Peak trains performance London Midland (L&SE) London Midland (L&SE) London Midland (L&SE services) London Midland (London & south east services) trendline London Midland (L&SE services) London Midland (London & south east services) trendline London Overground London Overground London Overground London Overground trendline London Overground London Overground trendline www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 9
National Rail Performance Report Q4 2015-16 All trains performance Peak trains performance Southeastern Southeastern Southeastern Southeastern trendline Southeastern Southeastern trendline South West Trains South West Trains South West Trains South West Trains trendline South West Trains South West Trains trendline www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 10
National Rail Performance Report Q4 2015-16 All trains performance Peak trains performance TfL Rail TfL Rail TfL Rail TfL Rail trendline TfL Rail TfL Rail trendline www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 11
2.3 Cancellations and significant lateness Cancellations and significant lateness is a measure of the percentage of trains, which arrive significantly late or do not run, expressed as a percentage of the total number of trains planned. A train is defined as significantly late if it arrives 30 or more minutes late at its planned destination or fails to complete its entire planned route, including calling at all timetabled stations. This measure reflects the level of serious disruption to passenger journeys. 2.3.1 Results Quarter 4 2015-16 The overall rate of cancellations and significant lateness was 3.4% in Q4 2015-16, which was 0.3 percentage points below the previous quarter (Q3 2015-16) but 0.2 percentage points higher than in Q4 2014-15. Chiltern recorded the lowest percentage, with 0.9%, a 0.5 percentage point reduction. c2c recorded the second best score, 1.5%, but this is higher than the previous quarter (Q3 2015-16) and the same period a year ago. GTR recorded the worst score in Q4 2015-16, the same score recorded in Q4 2014-15, with 5.0% of their trains cancelled or significantly late. Southeastern had the highest increase, rising from 2.4% in Q4 2014-15 to 4.0% in Q4 2015-16, a 1.5 percentage point increase. Graph 2 Cancellations and significant lateness Q4 2014-15, Q3 2015-16 & Q4 2015-16 7.00% 6.00% 5.00% 4.00% 3.00% 2.00% 1.00% 0.00% Q4 2014-15 Q3 2015-16 Q4 2015-16 www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 12
2.4 Right time arrivals Right time arrival is a measure of the percentage of trains that arrive at their final destination either on time or early. Right time is defined as less than one minute late (and should not be confused with on time, as defined for PPM purposes). 2.4.1 Results Quarter 4 2015-16 The overall rate of right time arrivals was 62.8% in Q4 2015-16, 2.5 percentage points lower than Q4 2014-15, but 3.5 percentage points higher than Q3 2015-16. Chiltern had the highest RTA with 83.5% of its trains arriving on time, 0.9 percentage points lower than Q4 2014-15, but 2.3 points higher compared to Q3 2015-16. GTR has recorded the lowest RTA and the second largest reduction, relative to the previous year, with 50.2% of their trains arriving on time, a 4.2 percentage point increase compared to Q3 2015-16 but 10.8 percentage point decrease compared to Q4 2014-15. c2c had the largest decrease, falling from 86.0% in Q4 2014-15 to 73.9% in Q4 2015-16, a 12.1 percentage point reduction. Graph 3 Right time arrivals Q4 2014-15, Q3 2015-16 & Q4 2015-16 100.00% 90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Q4 2014-15 Q3 2015-16 Q4 2015-16 www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 13
3 Passenger complaints The Office of Rail & Road issues data relating to the number of complaints received by franchised operators. The complaints data are expressed as a proportion of each 100,000 journeys made, as this is how train operating companies (TOCs) are required to report them. This normalisation of the data compensates for the difference between companies in the number of passengers carried. In the charts in this section, each train company s quarterly complaints data for the past three years are shown graphically. The rate of complaints an operator receives can be a useful performance indicator as it reflects direct feedback from passengers. TOCs record and report complaints made by letter, fax, e-mail, preprinted form or telephone. This data is provisional and subject to adjustment by the operators. It should be noted that these are national statistics, applying to the whole of each company s system. No distinction is made between local and longer-distance services, and it is not possible to isolate from them, those that refer to journeys made to, from or within London TravelWatch s geographical area. It will be seen that these results range widely. The reasons for the differences between operators are complex. For example, L&SE operators have a high proportion of regular commuters, travelling on season tickets, who therefore make infrequent transactions, and are accustomed to the vagaries of their travel experiences. The longer distance train operators typically offer a wider range of fares and ticket types (and classes of travel), and additional facilities such as reservations and catering, which can give rise to more potential sources of difficulty. Their services are often less frequent, and passengers are more likely to be accompanied by luggage. Not all operators control all or most (or even any) of the stations they serve. The social profile of an operators client base may materially affect its users propensity to complain. In addition, there is no fully effective industry-wide protocol relating to the definition and recording of complaints, particularly those that raise multiple issues. Inter-operator comparisons are generally less revealing than trends over time in individual companies data. www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 14
3.1 Complaints by operator The complaints data below is the latest available from the Office of Rail & Road. It relates to Q3 2015-16 (Oct-Dec 2015). The table shows the number of complaints passengers made about their journeys each quarter, over a three year period, to each train operating company. The shaded column shows the overall average complaints rate per operator per 100,000 journeys. For some operators (e.g. London Midland) this disguises sharp quarter-on-quarter fluctuations. The totals cover the whole of each company s services, including those that are outside L&SE. Heathrow Express is an unfranchised (or open access ) operator, for which complaints data are not published, and is therefore omitted. London Overground is conspicuous for its comparatively low rate of complaints. A number of factors probably contribute to this, including high service frequencies, short journeys, a simple ticketing system, fully staffed stations, high awareness of recent improvements and a generally high level of reliability. It is noteworthy that Chiltern has a high complaints rate despite its consistently good passenger satisfaction scores. This probably reflects the longer distance character of most of its services and solid make up of its community base, and the inclusion of delay-repay applications in its complaint totals, a practice which is not universal among other TOCs. Quarterly passenger complaints per 100,000 journeys TOC Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Average.12-13 13-14 13-14 13-14 13-14 14-15 14-15 14-15 14-15 15-16 15-16 15-16 Chiltern Railways 39 31 76 84 127 63 78.5 60.5 94.8 102.2 50.7 130.7 78.1 Great Western 89 44 48 56 68 41.8 38.3 37.9 36.9 28.7 36.1 36.3 46.8 Railway London Midland 96 57 35 40 40 28.6 27.6 32.6 30.0 27.3 31.1 38.6 40.3 Abellio Greater 36 24 26 42 29 30.2 35.0 33.8 28.4 34.5 62.3 57.0 36.5 Anglia Govia Thameslink 30 21 16 20 33 14.8 10.5 16.8 20.5 13.8 8.1 7.2 18.6 Railway c2c 21 11 14 13 16 12.6 24.8 25.0 17.7 15.5 18.1 30.8 18.3 South West Trains 18 9 11 15 17 13.2 15.2 21.7 18.2 12.0 10.0 13.7 14.5 Southeastern 15 9 9 14 20 8.1 9.2 13.8 23.4 14.7 12.3 14.0 13.5 TfL Rail : : : : : : : : : : 3.2 3.1 3.2 www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 15
Complaints per 100,000 journeys Complaints per 100,000 journeys National Rail Performance Report Q4 2015-16 Abellio Greater Anglia On average, there were 36.5 complaints to Abellio Greater Anglia per 100,000 journeys over the previous 12 quarters. Complaints about punctuality and reliability, ticking buying facilities and ticketing and refund policy were the most common. 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Abellio Greater Anglia c2c On average, there were 18.3 complaints to c2c per 100,000 journeys over the previous 12 quarters. Issues about timetabling and smartcards were the most frequent cause of complaint. The increase in Q2 and Q3 2015-16 could be due to the revised new timetable introduced in December 2015, which included extra station stops and overcrowding on some rush hour services. 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 c2c www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 16
Complaints per 100,000 journeys Complaints per 100,000 journeys National Rail Performance Report Q4 2015-16 Chiltern On average, there were 78.1 complaints to Chiltern per 100,000 journeys over the previous 12 quarters. Issues of punctuality and reliability were the most frequent cause of complaint. The increase in Q3 2015-16 could be due to the revised new timetable introduced in October 2015 in which services were introduced between Oxford Parkway and London. 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Chiltern Govia Thameslink Railway On average, there were 18.6 complaints to Govia Thameslink Railway per 100,000 journeys over the previous 12 quarters. Provision of information about train times/platforms and ticketing and refund policy were the most frequent cause of complaint. 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Govia Thameslink Railway www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 17
Complaints per 100,000 journeys Complaints per 100,000 journeys National Rail Performance Report Q4 2015-16 Great Western Railway On average, there were 46.8 complaints to Great Western Railway per 100,000 journeys over the previous 12 quarters. Sufficient room for passengers to sit/stand and punctuality and reliability were the main source of complaints. 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 Great Western Railway London Midland On average, there were 40.3 complaints to London Midland per 100,000 journeys over the previous periods. Sufficient room for passengers to sit/stand and punctuality and reliability were the main source of complaints. 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 London Midland www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 18
Complaints per 100,000 journeys Complaints per 100,000 journeys National Rail Performance Report Q4 2015-16 London Overground On average, there were 3.2 complaints to London Overground per 100,000 journeys over the previous periods. Punctuality and reliability was the main source of complaints. 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 London Overground Southeastern On average, there were 13.5 complaints to Southeastern per 100,000 journeys over the previous periods. Punctuality and reliability and ticketing & refund policy were the main source of complaints. 25 20 15 10 5 0 Southeastern www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 19
Complaints per 100,000 journeys National Rail Performance Report Q4 2015-16 South West Trains On average, there were 14.5 complaints to South West Trains per 100,000 journeys over the previous 12 quarters. Complaints about punctuality and reliability, was the most common. 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 South West Trains TfL Rail On 31 May 2015, a number of services transferred from Greater Anglia to create a new franchise known as TfL Rail (this is the precursor to Crossrail). At the same time, a number of Greater Anglia services were transferred to London Overground. Therefore, the 2015-16 data for these operators are not fully comparable with data from previous years. TfL Rail had the lowest complaints rate in Q3 2015-16. On average, there were 3.2 complaints to TfL Rail per 100,000 journeys. www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 20
Punctuality and reliability of trains was the common cause for complaint to TOCs in Q3 2015-16. Sufficient room for passengers to sit/stand and ticketing and refund policy were also a high source of complaints Chiltern Railways had the largest percentage increase in complaints and received the highest number of complaints per 100,000 passenger journeys in Q3 2015-16, compared to Q2 2015-16 and Q3 2014-15, with 130.7 complaints. The increase in complaints may be due to the introduction of a new October 2015 timetable. TfL Rail and London Overground had the lowest complaints rate with 3.1 and 4.6 complaints per 100, 000 passenger journeys. Graph 4 - Complaints per 100,000 passenger journeys by train operating company, Q3 2013-14 and Q3 2014-15 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Q3 2014-15 Q2 2015-16 Q3 2015-16 www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 21
Appendix Glossary & references Glossary Term TOC L&SE PPM CaSL RTA GTR ORR LOROL LTV Definition Train Operating Companies London & South East Public Performance Measure Cancellation & Significant Lateness Right Time Arrival Govia Thameslink Railway Office of Rail & Road London Overground London Thames Valley References o Network Rail o Office of Rail and Road www.londontravelwatch.org.uk 22